Professional First Article Inspector Jobs in Minneapolis, MN

About Verterra

Verterra Energy is reimagining how the world makes power from moving water. Our VOLTURNUS turbine is a clean-sheet design - not a windmill dropped underwater - built to drop into rivers, canals, and oceans and turn the energy already flowing past us into electricity. We're a small team of engineers and builders in New Brighton, MN who design, machine, mold, and assemble the entire system under one roof, and we're scaling. If you want to see something you built with your own hands go in the water and make power, come build it with us. Our New Brighton shop is where the turbines get made - real hardware, real tolerances, real deadlines.

Role Overview

We are hiring a phenomenal CNC machinist to own precision machining on our floor. You will be the person we trust to take a part from print to first article - planning the job, setting up the machine, dialing it in, cutting chips, and walking the part out the door verified and ready for the next step.

This is a craftsperson's role, not a desk job and not a manager role. You report directly to the CEO and work alongside our mechanical and electrical engineers, with real authority over how machining gets done on the floor.

One thing we want to be clear about: we are not looking for a one-person SWAT team. If you also weld or fabricate, fantastic - we have the equipment and the work. But this role is won or lost on machining, and that is what we are hiring for.

The Shop

Machines: Haas CNC mills and lathes (3-axis, plans for 5-axis), ShopBot 5-axis router, manual mill and lathe, full welding bay, press brake, bandsaws
Materials: carbon steel, stainless, aluminum, brass, plastics, composites - we run what the turbine needs
Standards: we run an immaculate floor - tools live in their place, machines get wiped down at end of day, chips don't pile up. If that's not how you work, this isn't your shop.

Core Responsibilities

CNC Machining
Set up and run Haas CNC mills and lathes from engineering prints and CAD files
Plan jobs: workholding, tooling, speeds and feeds, order of operations
Own tooling and fixturing decisions for new parts
Take parts from print to verified first article

Quality & Inspection
First article inspection and dimensional verification using calipers, micrometers, height gauges, and basic GD&T
Maintain the documentation and traceability our hardware requires

Shop Ownership
Preventive maintenance on the machines you operate
Uphold shop organization, cleanliness, and safety standards

Engineering Collaboration
Help our engineers troubleshoot manufacturability issues before they hit the floor
Feed real-world shop knowledge back into design reviews

Minimum Qualifications

8+ years running CNC mills and/or lathes professionally
Fluent with engineering prints, GD&T, and shop math
Strong setup skills: workholding, fixturing, tooling selection, and dialing in a new job from scratch
Comfortable being the most senior machinist in the shop on a given day
A portfolio of parts you're proud of - work you can talk through in detail

Preferred Qualifications

Haas experience
5-axis experience
CAM programming experience (Fusion 360, Mastercam, or similar)
MIG and TIG welding proficiency - a genuine plus here, not a requirement
Experience in defense, aerospace, marine, motorsports, or other durability-focused industries
Exposure to composites

What Success Looks Like

Parts move from print to accepted first article without hand-holding
Scrap and rework trend down as fixturing and setups improve
Machines stay maintained and the floor stays immaculate
Engineers hear about manufacturability problems before release, not after
When you run the machines, the machines run

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Company-paid life, disability, and basic protection
• 401(k) with employer match
• Unlimited paid time off + 2 weeks sick and safe leave
• 7 company-paid holidays: New Year's Day (January 1), Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day
• Stocked kitchen

Equal opportunity